The first of three battles fought in the Allied attempt to defeat Turkish forces in and around the Palestinian city of Gaza takes place on this day in 1917.

By January 1917, the Allies had managed to force the Turkish army completely out of the Sinai Peninsula in northeastern Egypt, leaving British forces in the region, commanded by Sir Archibald Murray, free to consider a move into Palestine. To do so, however, they would first have to confront a string of strong Turkish positions atop a series of ridges running west to east between the towns of Gaza and Beersheba and blocking the only viable passage into the heart of Palestine. These Turkish forces, commanded by the German general Friedrich Kress von Kressenstein, numbered some 18,000 troops; Murray planned to send twice that many British soldiers against them under the command of his subordinate, Sir Charles Dobell.

On the morning of March 26, 1917, Dobell and his men advanced on the ridges under the cover of dense fog; they were able to successfully cut off the east and southeast of Gaza and deploy troops to prevent the Turks from sending reinforcements or supplies to the town. The 53rd Infantry Division, at the center of the advance, received considerable assistance from a cavalry force commanded by Sir Philip Chetwode. However, near the end of that day, with a victory in Gaza in sight, Dobel and Chetwode decided to call off the attack. The decision, attributed to the failing light and mounting casualties among the infantry troops, was nonetheless controversial—other officers believed the Turks had been on the verge of capitulating.

Though the infantry resumed their attacks the next morning, the overnight delay had given Kressenstein time to reinforce the permanent garrison at Gaza with 4,000 new troops. After confronting a renewed Turkish counterattack, aided significantly by German reconnaissance aircraft from above, Dobell was forced to call off the attack. His forces suffered 4,000 casualties during the First Battle of Gaza, compared with only 2,400 on the Turkish side.

A second assault on Gaza, launched the following April 17, was similarly unsuccessful. It was not until that autumn that British forces, under the new regional command of Sir Edmund Allenby, were able to conquer the town and turn to the next challenge: securing Palestine’s capital city, Jerusalem, which fell into Allied hands on December 9, 1917.
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From the Ambassador in Constantinople (Wangenheim) to the Reichskanzler (Bethmann Hollweg)

Report, Pera, 26 March 1915

On the 12th of this month the Imperial consul in Aleppo reported of an uprising, which took place in Zeitun, a well-known Armenian flash-point from times past, but whose scope presently remains unknown.

Even though the Vali warned of it, the military commander did not leave troops there. When asked about it, the consul in Adana responded saying that it cannot be a question of an uprising of the Armenians but that in all likelihood it involved isolated expression in reaction to recruitment procedures. The local Armenian Patriarch agrees and adds that the government some time ago had taken away all weapons from the inhabitants.

Here is yesterday’s telegram from Consul Rössler:

“In Zeitun some Armenian deserters, who were to be arrested, shot a couple of Turkish gendarmes; the Islamic population of Marash clearly was going to use this incident as a reason to start with a massacre but remained calm since the set-up of a court-martial was announced. A German mission brother from Marash was sent to Zeitun as mediator. If the inhabitants do not hand over the ring leaders, military intervention will be used. In this case it might be difficult to keep in check the lower classes of the Islamic population of Marash. Asking for strict orders to prevent excesses. Armenian population of Marash is entirely peaceable. The strike against Zeitun should be swift and overwhelming to avoid the spreading of the insurrection. The mission, with eight Sisters living there, sent one of them to ask me to come to the help of the Germans in Marash. Asking for permission to leave. Trip there alone takes 3 days. Reply by wire.”

I arranged for the imperial consul to start the trip to Marash as long as he arranges for a suitable replacement in Aleppo and informs the consul representative in Alexandretta about his temporary absence.

The 22nd Battalion AIF was formed on 26 March 1915 at Broadmeadows Camp in Victoria. The battalion became part of the 6th Brigade of the 2nd Division.

Most of the battalion embarked for Egypt on 8 May 1915. The battalion deployed to Gallipoli in the first week of September 1915 allowing elements of the 2nd Brigade to be rested from their positions in the front line at ANZAC. The battalion served on the peninsula until the final evacuation in December 1915, and were then withdrawn to Egypt and brought back to strength with reinforcements.

While most of the battalion was serving on Gallipoli the transport drivers, along with the other drivers from the 6th Brigade, were sent to the Salonika front to support the Serbs. They did not rejoin the battalion until after the evacuation of ANZAC.

The battle of Lake Naroch, 18-26 March 1916, was an unsuccessful Russian offensive launched around Lake Naroch in the hope of recapturing Vilna, one of the most important towns in the Russian Baltic provinces. The Russians had been planning a major offensive to be launched in the summer of 1916 as part of a wider Allied plan, but their plans changed after the German attack at Verdun. (...)

The Russian offensive continued until 26 March in ever worsening conditions. The spring thaw began just before the battle, and by the time the fighting ended was in full effect. During April local German counterattacks took back most of the lost ground. The Russians suffered 100,000 casualties, and failed to pull any German troops away from the Western Front.

News Release - December 11, 2001
Names of Executed Soldiers to be Placed into Canada’s Book of Remembrance

Ottawa - The Honourable Ron J. Duhamel, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Western Diversification) (Francophonie) today announced that the names of 23 Canadian soldiers executed in the First World War will be added to the Book of Remembrance. The Minister made his announcement during a special statement in the House of Commons concerning the 23 soldiers who were executed for military offences of desertion and cowardice.

"Those who go to war at the request of their nation do not know the fate that lies in store for them. This was a war of such overwhelming sound, fury and unrelenting horror that few combatants could remain unaffected," said Minister Duhamel. "While we cannot relive those awful years of a nation at peril in total war, and although the culture of that time is subsequently too distant for us to comprehend fully, we can give these 23 soldiers a dignity that is their due, and provide closure to their families."

"Adding their names to the pages of this sacred book will be a fair and just testament to their service, their sacrifice, and our gratitude," the Minister stated. "While the 23 soldiers came from different regions of Canada, they all volunteered to serve their country in its citizen-army and their service, and the hardships they endured prior to their offences, will be unrecorded and unremembered, no more."

The First World War Book of Remembrance lies in the Memorial Chamber located on the second level of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. It contains the names of the 66,655 Canadian men and women who lost their lives in the Great War. Separate Books of Remembrance honour merchant mariners and Newfoundlanders who died in the First World War and other wars. There are three other Books of Remembrance in the Chamber which attracts more than half a million visitors each year.

Minister Duhamel also expressed his appreciation to Canada's veterans' organizations for their helpful advice on this matter.

Speaking Notes for The Honourable Ronald J. Duhamel, Minister of Veterans Affairs
Regarding First World War Military Executions delivered in the House of CommonsDecember 11, 2001

Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues, I rise today in this Chamber to speak to you about the First World War and the fate of some Canadian soldiers, a fate that has been essentially forgotten in the pages of our history .

For the young nation of Canada, the promise and optimism that infused the dawning 20th century was abruptly cut short by the First World War. No one anticipated such carnage. Or that we would soon be sending young citizens into a war that would see sixty-five million from 30 nations take up arms; where 10 million would lose their lives and 29 million more would be wounded, captured or missing.

Never before had there been such a war. Neither in the number of lives taken, nor in the manner of their taking. New weapons would turn fields of battle into slaughter grounds, while the rigours of life in the trenches would kill many of those who escaped bullet or bayonet.

This "war to end all wars" challenged our small country of 8 million to its limits. Almost 650,000 served in the Canadian Forces in the Great War. Over 68,000 - more than one in ten who fought - did not return. Total casualties amounted to more than one third of those who were in uniform. Thousands came home broken in body, mind, and spirit.

The service of Canadians in uniform was as remarkable as it was distinguished. History records their sacrifice in places whose names resonate even to the present day. Battle names such as Ypres, The Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and Amiens. Those who lived then and the historians who followed would declare that Canada came of age because of its actions and ingenuity during the First World War. But where history speaks of national sacrifice and achievement, it is too often silent on the individual stories of triumph, tragedy and terror of those who fought and died on the terrible killing fields of France and Belgium.

Those who went to war at the request of their nation could not know the fate that lay in store for them. This was a war of such overwhelming sound, fury and unrelenting horror that few combatants could remain unaffected. For the majority of the Canadians who took up arms and paid the ultimate sacrifice, we know little of their final moments. Except that they died in defence of freedom.

Today, I want to talk about 23 of our fallen. I would like to tell you about these soldiers because their circumstances were quite extraordinary. These 23 soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force occupy an unusual position in our military history. They were lawfully executed for military offences such as desertion or cowardice.

We can revisit the past, but we cannot recreate it. We cannot relive those awful years of a nation at peril in total war, and the culture of that time is subsequently too distant for us to comprehend fully. We can, however, do something in the present, in a solemn way, aware now, better than before, that people may break for reasons over which they have little control. For some, it may have been what we today call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

To give these 23 soldiers a dignity that is their due, and to provide closure to their families, as the Minister of Veterans Affairs, and on behalf of the Government of Canada, I wish to express my deep sorrow at their loss of life, not because of what they did or didn't do, but because they too lie in foreign fields where poppies blow amid the crosses, row on row. While they came from different regions of Canada, they all volunteered to serve their country in its citizen-army and that service, and the hardships they endured prior to their offences, will be unrecorded and unremembered, no more.

We remember those who have been largely forgotten. For over 80 years, they have laid side by side with their fallen comrades in the cemeteries of France and Belgium.

I am announcing today in this Chamber that the names of these 23 volunteers will be entered into the First World War Book of Remembrance alongside those of their colleagues. Adding the names of these citizen-soldiers to the pages of this sacred book, which lies in the Memorial Chamber not far from here, will be a fair and just testament to their service, their sacrifice and our gratitude forevermore.

The first battle of Gaza, 26-27 March 1917, was an unsuccessful British attack on Gaza, designed to clear the way for an invasion of Palestine later in 1917. During 1916 the British had steadily advanced across the Sinai desert from Egypt, building a railway as they went. On 9 January 1917 they had defeated the last Turkish force in Egypt, at Rafa, and were poised on the borders of Palestine.

The British had three infantry (52nd, 53rd and 54th), two cavalry divisions (Anzac and Imperial) and the Camel Corps Brigade in the Sinai, under the command of General Dobell. Part of this Eastern Force was organised into the Desert Column, under General Philip Chetwode. The Desert Column contained the 53rd infantry division, both of the cavalry divisions (each minus one brigade) and two Light Car Patrols.

General Dobell’s plan used all of these forces. The 52nd Division would remain in reserve. The Desert Column would make the main attack on Gaza – the 53rd Division would attack the main defences of Gaza while the mounted forces would form a screen to the east and north of Gaza, protected the troops attacking Gaza from any Turkish counterattack. The 54th division would take up a position to the east of the 52nd, anchoring the southern end of the cavalry screen. The screen forcing would thus contain 11,000 mounted troops and 8,000 infantry, while the assault force would contain 12,000 infantry.

The Turks, under the command of Kress von Kressenstein, had around 16,000 men in the vicinity of Gaza. The garrison of Gaza was 3,500 strong, supported by seven artillery batteries (two Austrian, two Turkish and one German), with 20 guns. The Germans also had more modern aircraft than the British, giving them aerial superiority over the battlefield.

The key defensive position at Gaza was the Ali Muntar ridge, east of the town. This would be the target of the British infantry attack. Behind it Gaza was protected by a maze of thick cactus hedges.

The British plan came close to success. During the morning of 26 March the British cavalry screen was established, and by noon the 53rd division was engaged on the Ali Muntar ridge. Progress against the defended ridgeline was slow, and so at 1 p.m. General Chetwode ordered the Anzac Cavalry Division to attack Gaza from the north.

This attack did not begin until 4 p.m., demonstrating the central problem with the British plan – slow and unreliable communications. By 6 p.m. the infantry of the 53rd division had captured the Ali Muntar ridge, but the news had not yet reached their divisional HQ. At the same time the Anzac Division had entered the northern suburbs of Gaza, and had joined up with the right flank of the infantry. In Gaza the German commander, Major Tiller, destroyed his wireless set and prepared to surrender. Outside the British cavalry screen Kress von Kressenstein allowed the relief columns to halt for the night, believing Gaza had fallen.

Unfortunately neither Dobell or Chetwode knew none of this. According to the information available to them, the infantry was still struggling against the Ali Muntar ridge and the progress of the cavalry was unknown. At 4 p.m. the first Turkish reinforcements were sighted, and by 5 p.m. Dobell knew that 10,000 Turkish troops were approaching Gaza from the east. From their perspective the attack on Gaza had bogged down, and there was a real danger that the Turkish reinforcements might punch a hole in the cavalry screen and cut off all of the British troops north of Gaza.

At 5.30 Dobell ordered the 54th division to move north west, from their position on Shah Abbas ridge, to Khan Mansura, to protect the escape route. At 6.00 pm, acting entirely correctly from the information in hand, Dobell ordered the cavalry to withdraw from north of Gaza. This exposed the right wing of the 53rd division, and so at 7 p.m. General Dallas, commander of the division, was ordered to pull his right flank back to make contact with the 54th division. Unfortunately, he had not been informed of that divisions new position, and so ordered his men to abandon the Ali Muntar ridge. By the time the error had been discovered, it was too late.

On the morning of 27 March, the two British infantry divisions were formed up back to back on two of the ridges south of Gaza. An attempt to recapture Ali Muntar ridge briefly held the top of the ridge before a Turkish counterattack drove the British back. That evening the British pulled back to the Wadi Ghuzze, five miles south west of Gaza.

The British suffered 4000 casualties during the battle (523 dead, 2,932 wounded and 512 missing), the Turks only 2,450 (300 dead, 1,085 wounded and 1,061 missing). The victory encouraged the Turks to defend Gaza with more determination, while the realisation of how close they had come to victory encouraged the British to believe that a second attack might succeed. The resulting second battle of Gaza (17-19 April) was a heavy British defeat.

Private Thomas Killen was born in Maybole, Ayr, Scotland on 7 January 1890 and was a shoemaker by trade. Private Killen first joined the 121st Western Irish out of New Westminster, BC and subsequently transferred to the 54th (Kootenay) Battalion. On the 26 March 1917,the day that he was killed in action, the 54th Battalion's War Diary states that they relieved the 102nd in the front lines and that 5 ORs were killed and 8 wounded. He now lies buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, France.

CHERRY, PERCY HERBERT (1895-1917), soldier, was born on 4 June 1895 at Drysdale, Victoria, son of John Gawley Cherry and his wife Elizabeth, née Russel, both Victorian-born. When he was 7 the family moved to Tasmania and took up an apple orchard near Cradoc. Percy attended the local state school until he was 13 and was then privately tutored. He played the cornet in the Franklin brass band, sang in the Anglican church choir and belonged to the local cadet corps. He worked with his father and became an expert apple-packer, winning a championship title in case-making at Launceston Fruit Show. In 1913 he was commissioned in the 93rd Infantry Regiment.

On 15 March 1915 Cherry enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and was posted to the 26th Battalion; he was considered too young for an A.I.F. commission and he sailed for Egypt in June as a quartermaster sergeant. In August he was made a company sergeant major and next month reached Gallipoli where he served at Taylor's Hollow and Russell's Top. He was wounded on 1 December and evacuated; a week later he was promoted second lieutenant. Cherry remained in Egypt until March 1916 when, after attending a machine-gun school, he was transferred to the 7th Machine-Gun Company and sent to France. He commanded the company's 1st Battery at Fleurbaix, Messines and on the Somme until 5 August when he was wounded in a duel with a German officer at Pozières. After sniping at each other from their shell-holes both officers fired together and both were wounded, the German mortally. When Cherry went to him he was given a package of letters which he promised to post; his opponent's dying words were 'And so it ends'. Cherry was promoted lieutenant on 25 August and resumed duty on the Somme in November; next month he was made a temporary captain and transferred back to the 26th Battalion as a company commander. Unpopular at first, for he was 'a little martinet on parade', he was soon to gain the respect of his men for his leadership in action.

Cherry's rank was confirmed in February 1917 and at Warlencourt on 1-2 March he took part in an attack on Malt Trench. When he and his men found a small gap in the enemy wire, he rushed two machine-gun posts, capturing one single-handed and turning the gun on the fleeing Germans before being wounded himself. He was to receive the Military Cross for this gallant episode, though the award was not announced until the day of his death and he never knew of it. On 26 March 1917 his battalion was ordered to storm the village of Lagnicourt. Cherry's company encountered fierce opposition and after all the other officers had been killed or wounded, he 'carried on with care and determination … and cleared the village of the enemy'. The Germans counter-attacked and the battle raged all day long. Though wounded in the leg, Cherry remained at his post and in the late afternoon was killed by a shell; he was buried in Quéant Road cemetery, Buissy. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, an honour for which his battalion commander had recommended him for 'bravery beyond description'. He was unmarried.

In order to delay the Allies’ approach to the Hindenburg Line, the Germans left a screen of strongly entrenched garrisons at almost every village. On 18 and 19 March the Australians captured Frimicourt, Lebucquitre and Velu villages. From there they could see the wide rusty-wire belts and white chalk parapets of the Hindenburg Line crowning some of the rises five kilometres away. The attempt to seize Noreuil on 20 March failed but Beaumetz and Morchies were captured on the 21st. German counter-attacks at Beaumetz on the 23rd and 24th were beaten off.(...)

On 26 March 1917, the village of Lagnicourt fell in a very hard fight that cost 400 casualties. An even tougher fight for Noreuil ensued on 2 April that cost 600. On 9 April 1917, the last significant villages screening the Hindenburg Line were captured, three days after German unrestricted submarine warfare had caused the United States to declare war on Germany. The next Australian attack would be against the Hindenburg Line itself.

Captain Percy Cherry
Born in Victoria, Percy Cherry grew up at Cradoc in Tasmania and enlisted in the 26th Battalion in March 1915. He served at Gallipoli from September 1915 until he was wounded shortly before the evacuation in December. Captain Cherry was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his valour at Lagnicourt, France on 26 March 1917. After all of the other officers in his company became casualties, he continued to lead his men in the face of fierce opposition and cleared his objective of enemy troops. Captain Cherry then led his men in beating off heavy counter-attacks and, despite being wounded, refused to leave his post. He was killed by an enemy shell.

President Wilson had not waited until the actual Declaration of War before setting Uncle Sam's house in order for the inevitable conflict. On March 26, 1917, the President had issued an order increasing the enlisted strength of the U. S. Marine Corps to 17,400 men, the limit permitted under the law. On March 29, 1917, 103 Ensigns were graduated from the Annapolis Naval Academy three months in advance of the customary graduation, and on April 6, 1917, when war was declared, the Navy was mobilized.

All the radio stations in the country, commercial or amateur, were at once seized. A wireless message was flashed from the Arlington station, notifying all American ships at foreign stations and the Governors and Military posts of America's insular possession in the Pacific and in the Antilles that a state of war existed. War zones were established along the whole coast line of the United States and a series of local barred zones extending from the larger harbors in American waters were indicated. All these harbors were barred at night to entering vessels in order to guard against surprise attacks from German submarines. The Naval Militia of all the states, as well as the Naval Reserves of the Coast Guard Service, were placed at the disposal of the Navy Department. The Naval Militia, numbering 584 officers and 7933 men, were at once assembled and assigned to coast patrol service.

Navy Volunteers Flock to the Colors - The enlisted strength of the Navy was 70,000 men, in addition to 8500 members of the Naval Militia. It was estimated that, for the complete mobilization of the Navy, 99,809 regularly enlisted men and 45,870 reserves, were required. Of these, some 27,000 were needed for coast defense, while 12,000 were available for service at the various shore stations. All retired officers of the Navy were summoned for duty. A call for 35,000 men to the Navy brought volunteers in flocks to the colors.

1,000 New Vessels Under Way - A large fleet of mosquito craft was organized to patrol the Atlantic Coast, keeping on the watch for submarines. A Coast Patrol Fleet was organized on March 31st under the command of Capt. Henry B. Wilson. Contracts had been awarded for the construction of 24 destroyers before war was declared, and additional destroyers were now being built. Before the outbreak of the war, 123 new naval vessels were under construction. Immediately after war was declared, contracts were made for building 949 new vessels. All vessels in American harbors of 2,500 tons or more dead weight were requisitioned. More than 800 craft were taken over and converted into transports, patrol service boats, submarine chasers, mine sweepers, and mine layers.

Over 300,000 Enlist in the Navy - So rapid was the Navy's expansion that, before Jan. 1, 1918, there were 245,207 men enrolled in the Regular Navy, 54,000 in the Reserve Force, 16,500 men and 856 officers in the Naval Volunteer ranks. The Marine Corps had similarly been expanded from a force of 13,266 men to a total strength of 70,527 men and 2,435 officers.

109 German Ships Seized - The U. S. Government seized 109 German ships, aggregating 629,000 gross tonnage, which were lying in American ports. Of these, 27 were moored in New York Harbor, including the Vaterland, George Washington and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Six were in Boston Harbor, including the Amerika and the Kronprinzessin Cécile. Many German vessels were held in the Philippines and at Hawaii. Seven Austrian vessels also were seized, but subject to payment. In addition, all ships being built on private contract or for neutral nations were commandeered. Other neutral vessels were secured by arrangement. The German officers and crews were interned for the period of the War. Many of the German ships had been purposely damaged before being turned over to the Government, but they were quickly repaired, given new names and put to sea under the American flag.

Wholesale Arrests of German Spies - Federal officers had rounded up and sent to Federal prisons many German spies. Some already had been convicted of complicity in German plots and were at liberty on bond pending decision on their appeals; others were under indictment and awaiting trial; many more suspects had long been under strict surveillance. By proclamation, President Wilson warned all citizens and aliens against the commission of acts of treason, while assuring German civilians and German Reservists domiciled on American soil that they would be free from molestation if they conducted themselves in conformity to the law. Suitable precautions were taken against any uprisings by German sympathizers. During this crucial period the nation was afflicted with spy fever in its most virulent form, and many loyal persons were unjustly accused of pro-German sympathies.

Many Naval Camps Established - Naval camps sprung up in a night at various points along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, notably at League Island, Newport, Cape May, Charleston, Pensacola, Key West, Mare Island, Puget Sound, Hingham, Norfolk, New Orleans, New York, Great Lakes, Pelham, Hampton Roads and Gulf port. Schools in gunnery and engineering were established, where men were trained not only for the Navy but for the Merchant Marine as well. Special attention was paid to the training of gunners in submarine attack, resulting in greater efficiency.

American Destroyer Fleet Crosses Ocean - Four weeks after the Declaration of War, a squadron of American destroyers, under the command of Admiral William S. Sims, reported for service at Queenstown, at once co-operating with the British Fleet in patrolling the submarine zone. While en route to England, one of the destroyers conveyed a large Atlantic liner through the danger zone. With the arrival of the American Fleet the Allied losses by German submarine attack began steadily to diminish.

Brothers died in 1917
Our listing of known sets of brothers who died on the same date in 1917.

26 March 1917 - Theodore, 27, and Wilfred Wicking, 28, died while serving with the 1/4th Battalion, the Royal Sussex Regiment. Killed in the First Battle of Gaza, they have no known graves and are commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial to the Missing.

The Allied conference demanded by Haig took place on 26 March at Doullens. Ten senior Allied politicians and generals were present, including the French president, prime minister and Winston Churchill (the Minister of Munitions), Generals Pétain, Foch, Haig and Wilson (the Chief of the Imperial General Staff). The end result of the meeting was that General Foch was first given overall command of the fighting on the Western Front and then later became generalissimo of all Allied forces everywhere. It was agreed to hold the Germans east of Amiens and an increasing number of French soldiers would come to the aid of Gough’s Fifth Army, eventually taking over large parts of the front south of Amiens.

Ludendorff issued new orders on 26 March. All three of his armies were given ambitious targets, which included the capture of Amiens and an advance towards Compiègne (close to Foch’s own head quarters). Neither of these objectives would be achieved, although Montdidier would fall on 27 March.

Sir James E. Edmonds noted:

On 26 March, the general direction of the two northern German Armies of attack, the Second and Seventeenth, was still due west; the Eighteenth Army opened fanwise, its northern boundary some six miles, south of the Somme at Peronne, running west, but its southern one near Chauny, pointing south-west.' In the north the 'Seventeenth Army...met with very determined resistance, but it was hoped, with the aid of the Second Army on the south, which had not encountered so much opposition, and of new attacks - "Mars" and "Valkyrie"...on the north [towards Arras] that the Seventeenth would be able to get going again."

A gap in the the British line near Colincamps was held by newly arrived elements of the New Zealand Division that had moved to the line Hamel-Serre to close the gap. They were assisted by British "Whippet" tanks which were lighter and faster than the Mark IVs. This was their first time in action. At around 1pm, "twelve ‘whippet’ tanks of the 3rd Tank Battalion suddenly appeared from Colincamps, which they had reached at midday, and where there were only two infantry posts of the 51st Div. Debouching from the northern end of the village, they produced an instantaneous effect. Some three hundred of the enemy, about to enter it from the east, fled in panic. A number of others, finding their retreat cut off, surrendered to some infantry of the 51st Divn…" Despite this success German pressure on Byng's southern flank and communication misunderstandings resulted in the unfortunate and premature retirement of units from Bray and the abandonment of the Somme crossings westwards. To the south of the Somme the 1/1st Herts were:

... moved forward through CHUIGNES to a line in front of the CHUIGNES-FOUCACOURT road I support to the 117th and 118th Bdes. After covering their retirement the Bn fought a series of rearguard actions on the many ridges in front of the village of CHUIGNOLLES. In the afternoon the Bn occupied the PROYART-FROISSY road. Orders were given for the Bn to withdraw behind PROYART, astride the FOUCACOURT-MANOTTE road.”

26 March was also a bad day for French forces on the extreme right (south) of the line troops (now under the command of General Fayolle) fell back in the face of protracted fighting and serious gaps appeared between the retreating groups.

Of the front between the Oise and the Somme, the French held 18 miles and the British 19 miles. It was for the greater part a continuous line; but there was a three-mile space between the French left at Roye and the right of the XIX Corps at Fransart... To fill the gap there were available the remains of the four divisions, the 20th, 36th, 30th and 61st, of the XVIII Corps. These General Maxse had instructed to assemble at and north-west of Roye, in order to keep connection between Robillot's Corps and the XIX Corps and to ensure that if the Allied Armies separated, the XVIII Corps might still remain with the Fifth Army."

Most of the Ulster Division had arrived in their new lines around 02:00 on 26 March, and were able to sleep around six hours, the longest continuous sleep they had in six days. While they slept, German troops entered and occupied Roye. Meanwhile, the 9th Irish Fusiliers were a long way behind the rest of the Division, delayed by their action north of Guiscard the night before. Their retreat was a 30 mile continuous night march from Guiscard to Erches, their designated position at the centre of the new line, along the Guerbigny-Bouchoir road. They route-marched through Bussy to Avricourt, then on to Tilloloy, Popincourt, Grivillers, Marquivillers, and finally via Guerbigny to Erches, where they arrived, completely exhausted, around 11:00 on 26 March.

The German troops who took Roye during the early hours of the morning, continued to advance on the Bouchoir-Guerbigny line. By mid-morning, they were in Andechy, just 3½ miles from the new British line.

The Doullens Conference was held in Doullens, France on March 26, 1918 between French and British military leaders. The purpose of the conference was to better coordinate the British and French military operations on the Western Front.

It became quite clear that better coordination between the Allies was needed to prevent a German breakthrough. The Allies decided to meet at Dury, France on the 26th but moved the meeting to Doullens because Field Marshal Haig had already planned to meet with his commanders there. There was some concern that the advancing Germans may actually overrun the town of Doullens before the conference but the conference was successful.[2] The meeting involved General Petain, French President Raymond Poincare, Premier Georges Clemenceau, General Ferdinand Foch, and General Maxime Weygand; Lord Alfred Milner, Field Marshal Haig, and Generals Henry Wilson, Herbert Lawrence, and Archibald Montgomery were the British representatives.[3] The conference was somewhat successful in its attempt to form a more unified command. The basic goal was to appoint a ‘commander-in-chief’ with enough authority to manage all Allied operations. The members attending the conference believed that General Ferdinand Foch had shown the best leadership and perseverance and therefore put him in charge of all the Allied armies on the Western Front. One of Foch’s more inspiring statements at the conference clearly showing his perseverance was “You aren’t fighting? I would fight without a break. I would fight in front of Amiens. I would fight in Amiens. I would fight behind Amiens. I would fight all the time. I would never surrender”.

Charles Edward Marlor enlisted with the Ashton Territorials (9th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment) on Saturday, 10 October 1914 and he was allocated service number, 2322. By Sunday, 5 December 1915 he had been promoted to the rank of Corporal.

He was posted to Egypt and his entry into a theatre of war was on Monday, 5 July 1915 and his medal card shows that this was Theatre 2b, which was the Balkans including the Gallipoli peninsular in Turkey. Following the allied withdrawal from Gallipoli at the end of 1915 he was posted to France.

At the beginning of 1917 Territorial soldiers were allocated new six-digit service numbers and his was 350735.

The War Diary of the 1/6th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment for February 1918 records that a draft of men were arriving from the 1/9th Battalion. It seem that the 1/9th and the 2/9th were merged and this produced a surplus of men who were transferred to the 6th Battalion. It must have been around this time (February 1918) that Charles Edward Marlor was transferred from the 9th to the 2/6th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment.

He was serving with the 2/6th Battalion when he was killed. The circumstances are that the Allied Fifth Army, of which the Manchester Regiment was a part, was driven back across the former Somme battlefields during March and April 1918.

Surviving records concerning his death conflict. His medal card states that he was killed in action between the 21 and 31 March 1918. In contrast to this, the Record of Soldiers who died in the Great War states that he died of wounds on the 26 March 1918. This conflicts with him having no known grave. This suggests two possibilities, the first being considered to be the most likely.

1.He was killed in action, possibly on Thursday, 21 March 1918 when the German offensive began.

2.He was wounded and taken to a dressing station where he was abandoned when the Allied Fifth Army was forced to retreat. When its position was overrun by the Germans he became a prisoner of war. While a prisoner, he died of his wounds and the Germans buried him without making records.
Either way, he has no known grave and consequently he is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial. His official date of death is given as Tuesday, 26 March 1918.

He was posthumously awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal 1914-20 and the Victory Medal 1914-18.

Charles was the son of Edward Marlor and Catherine Corless of Denton, Manchester.

That day, the German Army picked up the pace of their advance and pressed forward at an alarming pace, covered many miles. Allied troops and civilians with laden carts and wagons filled the roads streaming south and west. The Germans passed through Libermont, and over the Canal du Nord. Further north, the town of Nesle was captured, while to the south west of Libermont German troops soon faced the French along the Noyon-Roye road.

Most of the Ulster Division had arrived in their new lines around 02:00 on 26 March, and were able to sleep around six hours, the longest continuous sleep they had had since the beginning of the offensive began, some six days before. Within a few short hours, while they slept, German troops entered and occupied Roye.

Meanwhile, the 9th Irish Fusiliers were a long way behind the rest of the Division, delayed by their action north of Guiscard the night before. Their retreat was a 30 mile continuous night march from Guiscard to Erches, their designated position at the centre of the new line, along the Guerbigny-Bouchoir road. They route-marched through Bussy to Avricourt, then on to Tilloloy, Popincourt, Grivillers, Marquivillers, and finally via Guerbigny to Erches, where they arrived, completely exhausted, around 11:00 on 26 March.

March 26, 1918 - The 4th Brigade of the Australian 4th Division closes the gap at Hébuterne about 30 kilometres north east of Amiens. Another two brigades of the Australian 4th Division, 12th and 13th, are rushed to a new crises near Albert. Due to a mistake, the British Division protecting Albert was withdrawn. After a 27 kilometre march through the night they reached villages north west of Albert only to hear that familiar places such as Pozières, Thiepval and Mouquet Farm and Albert had been captured.

WILLIAM HOHENZOLLERN is reported to be busy sawing trees. Some declare that his energy is due to an hallucination that they are German generals.

The beggar who has been going about telling a pitiful story of being wounded by a trench-mortar during the Jutland battle is now regarded by the police as an impostor.

A lady-correspondent, writing to a daily paper, laments the fact that the War has changed a great many husbands. Surely the wife who receives the wrong husband can get some sort of redress from the War Office.

§ 28. Mr. GILBERT asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what arrangements have been made with the Belgian and French Governments for the preservation and upkeep of British soldiers' graves in both countries?

Captain GUEST (Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) The Imperial War Graves Commission is charged with this duty. All British war cemeteries in France, Belgium, and other countries will be maintained by this Commission, and for this purpose satisfactory agreements have been concluded with the Governments of the countries concerned.

§ Mr. STANTON asked the Secretary of State for War if he will request the Director of Graves Department to take immediate steps to supply photographs of the graves of our gallant dead to their 391 anxious waiting relatives; will he state what is now being done in this matter; and will he make inquiries into this treatment of people who gave their sons to save this country?

§ Mr. GILBERT asked if the Graves Registration Committee can supply photographs, when obtainable, of the graves of soldiers who are buried in France or Belgium; if such photographs are supplied free; and, if not, what is the charge for the same, and to whom should the relatives apply if they desire them?

Captain GUEST The Directorate of Graves Registration and Inquiries is supplying photographs of graves free of charge to relatives on request as quickly as circumstances permit. Photographs of registered identified graves have been supplied since June, 1915, funds for the purpose being generously supplied by the Joint War Committee of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Since that date 98,300 photographs have been sent out. All applications for photographs should be addressed to the Directorate of Graves Registration and Inquiries, Winchester House, St. James's Square, London, S.W.1. Relatives are informed when notification of death is sent that photographs will be supplied if such application is made.

§ Mr. STANTON Is the hon. and gallant Gentleman aware of the fact that I have for eighteen months endeavoured to get a photograph of my son's grave, and have not been able to get it yet? I have written repeatedly to the Director of Graves.

Captain GUEST Perhaps the hon. Member will send me a note.

§ Mr. STANTON I am getting a bit impatient about it.

§ Mr. GILBERT Can relatives obtain more than one photograph, and will they be given free or a charge made?

This early Chaplin film has him playing a character quite different from the Tramp for which he would become famous. He is a rich, upper-class gentleman whose romance is endangered when his girlfriend oversees him being embraced by a maid. Chaplin's romantic interest in this film, Minta Durfee, was the wife of fellow Keystone actor, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

(...) With the onset of the first world war, Aintree racecourse was handed over to the war office in December 1914. The course held its last Grand National steeplechase on March 26th 1915, with its gates remaining shut until 1919; Gatwick racecourse, in place of the suspended Aintree Grand National, held the Racecourse Association steeplechase in 1916, and the re-named War National Steeplechase in 1917 and 18.

Many racecourses, both flat and jump, floundered during the dark years of the First World War. Cheltenham's National Hunt Festival, although not abandoned, was greatly affected, racing at Sedgefield was abandoned from 1915 to 1920, and Plumpton racecourse staged its last meeting on April 3rd 1915, resuming again on the December 17th 1919. (...)

The ring-shaped doughnut was allegedly invented in about 1847 by a man from Camden. In The Washington Post of Mar. 26, 1916, Captain Hanson Gregory claimed to have had his brainstorm while aboard a lime-trading ship at the age of 16.

"Now in them days we used to cut the doughnuts into diamond shapes, and also into long strips, bent in half, and then twisted. I don't think we called them doughnuts then—they was just 'fried cakes' and 'twisters.'

"Well, sir, they used to fry all right around the edges, but when you had the edges done the insides was all raw dough. And the twisters used to sop up all the grease just where they bent, and they were tough on the digestion."
"Well, I says to myself, 'Why wouldn't a space inside solve the difficulty?' I thought at first I'd take one of the strips and roll it around, then I got an inspiration, a great inspiration.

"I took the cover off the ship's tin pepper box, and—I cut into the middle of that doughnut the first hole ever seen by mortal eyes!"

"Were you pleased?"

"Was Columbus pleased? Well, sir, them doughnuts was the finest I ever tasted. No more indigestion—no more greasy sinkers—but just well-done, fried-through doughnuts."

Upon returning to Camden, Gregory taught his mother the trick. She sent several panfuls to Rockland, where they were an instant hit.

A plaque near Clam Cove in the present town of Rockport marks Captain Gregory's birthplace, which is now the parsonage of the Nativity Lutheran Church. Captain Gregory lived his last years at Sailors' Snug Harbor in Quincy, Mass., and was buried there beneath a prominent headstone in 1921.

By 1918 the German economic situation had become so desperate that the government confiscated personal items made of metal. The poster below, designed by Louis Oppenheim, reads: “Home Furnishings made of Aluminum, Copper, Nickel, Tin are Confiscated - Deliver Them Now! The Proclamation No. M./1.18 from K[riegs]R[ohstoff]A[bteilung] [War Materials Department] of March 26, 1918, is to be in view at all collection points.” The metals collected in this way were melted down and used for the war effort.

The following news items were drawn from the archives of the Mail Tribune 100 years ago:

Weather Observer Theo F. Drake reached Medford yesterday and entered at once upon the work of frost warning and preparations for the making of a weather survey of the valley. Through the persistent work of the Commercial Club, the national government ordered the making of this survey, and to that end the establishment of 10 more co-operative observation stations scattered through the district.
Mr. Drake is spending today in a tour of the valley with Ben Sheldon, looking for suitable locations for these additional stations. He will be on duty at the local weather office nights when frost danger seems imminent.
Cloudiness and a change in the weather prevented frost Thursday night.

Walter Lees, a boy tramp, aged 17 years, was arrested by the police Thursday night after he is alleged to have made several attempts to enter the home of Jack Dent of the Wells-Fargo Express company. Lees rapped at the front door, and when the knocks were responded to by Mrs. Dent, tried to force his way into the house, according to the police version. Mrs. Dent, badly frightened, phoned her husband, who rushed to the scene, capturing Lees, and afterwards turning him over to the custody of the police. Lees will be examined this afternoon regarding his sanity, as his actions and manner of speech are classed as queer. Lees says his home is in Washington, near Tacoma.

ASHLAND, March 26 — After much delay in a movement along this line, Ashland is to have a merchants' association. Preliminary steps toward forming such an organization will be taken at a meeting to be held at Moose Hall this evening. In the wording of the announcement, "the object is the harmonizing of business interests and the welfare of Ashland." Every business man in town is invited. An association of this kind in nowise conflicts with the work of the Commercial Club, inasmuch as each organization has its own problems and scope of activities. Mutual help and self-protection is its aim.
L.R. Merrick of Portland is expected to be present, also several members of Medford's contingent of live wires, who will give testimony as to the faith which is in them. A banquet and smoker will assist in whiling away the social hour. Moose Hall will undoubtedly be the scene of a lively and interesting meeting.

(...) Operating in part of the Somme battlefield of 1916, the New Zealanders, with considerable British help, managed to stabilise the front in this sector. On 26 March two composite brigades pushed forward until they clashed with the advancing enemy formations between Auchonvillers and Hamel; next morning another composite brigade moved into position between Colincamps and Hébuterne. (...)